Canada police updates iconic uniform, hijab to be allowed

Canada’s national police force, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is to allow its female Muslim officers to wear hijabs. The move according to the RCMP is part of updating an iconic uniform “to better reflect the diversity” of Canadian communities.

The uniform in question, a red serge tunic, leather riding boots and wide-brimmed felt campaign hat, dates back to the 1880s and was last updated in 1990 to allow Sikh officers to wear turbans.

A spokesman for Ralph Goodale, the public safety minister, told the AFP news agency that, “The commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police recently approved this addition to the uniform.”

“This is intended to better reflect the diversity in our communities and encourage more Muslim women to consider the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as a career option,” he added.

Reports by local media indicate that the policy was quietly passed despite no Muslim officer in the recent past having requested to wear their hijab as part of their official uniform.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police becomes the third police force in Canada to add the hijab option after Toronto and Edmonton. According to a memo around the policy, the type of hijab to be admitted in the uniform was one that could be removed quickly and easily if needed.